The taxi zone at the San Rafael Transit Center will be closed to accommodate the construction of a SMART train spur to Larkspur. (Robert Tong/Marin Independent Journal)

Taxis will no longer be allowed to pick up passengers at the San Rafael Transit Center beginning next month as the hub undergoes changes to accommodate Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit trains as part of an extension to Larkspur.

As of Feb. 1, the five taxi companies operating at the transit center will have to pick up passengers at “bump out” loading areas on Tamalpais Avenue across the street.

“Construction is about to begin, which will allow SMART to extend to Larkspur, going right through the San Rafael Transit Center,” said Priya Clemens, spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge district, which operates the center. “This will involve relocating a transformer, trenching and installing new conduit next to Platform D. We simply don’t have the space to continue to accommodate taxis inside our operating envelope as we make these necessary changes.”

Taxis have a designated area at the transit center where riders go to get service. Now there is concern from taxi operators who fear moving the pick-up point will confuse riders who rely on the service.

“We provide a service to the entire community,” said Lucinda Daniels, operation manager for San Rafael-based North Bay Taxi, one of the displaced companies. “We are dealing with a segment of society who need easy access.”

Daniels worries that pick-ups on Tamalpais will not be easy as cabs get stuck in traffic on the street. She is requesting the city of San Rafael create a special loading zone for cabs, space that the cab companies would pay for.

“It’s a big deal for us and the community,” she said. “We work with a lot of social service agencies, local nonprofits, special needs children and seniors. I hope they can do this for us.”

North Bay Taxi employs 56 drivers and has 35 cars. It provides upward of 300 rides a day, Daniels said.

The transit center — formally known as the C. Paul Bettini Transit Center for a former mayor — opened in 1991 and is used by 9,000 people daily.

It will soon begin to be revamped so SMART trains can pass through the hub en route to Larkspur by 2019. Construction will include new tracks, barriers and crossing arms. The rail line will go through Platform C.

The modifications are expected to cost about $3.5 million, money provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission that was intended to be used for an abandoned ferry project at Port Sonoma.

The bridge district eventually wants to build a new transit center in the same area to better accommodate bus and SMART train users.

At least three sites for a new center are being considered, including the existing site between Second and Third streets and land between Third and Fourth streets. A second option would use land between Third and Fourth streets and Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue, where Citibank and House of Bagels are now. A new site will likely involve buying property that currently houses buildings.

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Another possible site would stretch from Fourth Street to Mission Avenue. That design would close Fifth Avenue to vehicle traffic at the SMART train tracks. The city would like to see if there is a fourth location, if it’s feasible.